Measuring Hurricane Sandy by The Ponytail Index

We don't yet know how much damage Hurricane Sandy will do. But we already have evidence of the ruinous effects the storm is having on the crowing glory of so many women: their hair. Sifting through photos from the entire East Coast, you can measure Sandy's intensity by the Ponytail Index -- whether women will venture outside hatless or elastic band-less, and what disastrous effects those decisions have. A quick Twitter search pulls up hundreds of tweets echoing the concerns of @Betelly, who tweeted, "This bitch sandy done fucked my hair up." Many sufferers posted photographic evidence. "GUYS IM LAUGHING SO HARD LOOK AT MY HAIR HURRICANE SANDY I C U" tweets @SexGodHoran, who appears to be tweeting from Byfield, Massachusetts and posted the photo above. At left, a woman on the Hoboken, New Jersey waterfront had a ponytail that doubles as a windsock on Monday.

Everyone has someone on their holiday shopping list who’s impossible to buy for. For the second year in a row, we asked Atlantic readers to describe their someone, and brainstormed a few perfect gift ideas for them.